NC starts Chemours investigation over GenX

Wednesday

Jun 14, 2017 at 5:25 PMJun 14, 2017 at 9:22 PM

Chemical company agrees to foot water sampling and testing costs

By Adam Wagner GateHouse Media

WILMINGTON -- Less than a week after reports first emerged that an unregulated chemical had been found in the Cape Fear River, state officials have launched a formal investigation into the matter, according to a N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) release sent late Wednesday.

While DEQ officials work with chemical giant Chemours to discover how the compound in question, GenX, is entering the river and how it could be stopped, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is trying to grasp what effects it might have on humans, according to the release.

GenX belongs to a family of chemicals known as fluorochemicals, a group of man-made chemicals that also includes C8, the chemical it replaced. DuPont and spin-off company Chemours ceased production of C8, also known as PFOA, in the face of steadily mounting legal challenges and a body of research indicating dangerous health effects.

The DEQ release came on the eve of a meeting between Chemours, which makes GenX at its Fayetteville Works plant, and state and federal officials.

"We are seeking answers and solutions to a problem that has prompted understandable concern among citizens who live and work in Wilmington and the lower Cape Fear region," Michael Regan, the DEQ secretary, said in the release.

Researchers have on three separate occasions discovered GenX in the Cape Fear River -- including in the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority's (CFPUA) intake.

State officials will replicate that process by collecting samples from the Cape Fear River and sending them to a Colorado laboratory that can test for GenX, with materials for that testing expected to arrive in the area next week. Chemours will, according to the DEQ release, pay for all costs of the water collection and testing.

The lab told state officials it will take four weeks from when the samples are received to finish an initial round of testing. Multiple rounds will be necessary to reach meaningful results, the release states.

'Pushing that issue'

Chemours and state regulators held a conference call Tuesday, as part of what DEQ spokesman Jamie Kritzer described as ongoing conversations between the agency and the company.

"During that conversation, the company indicated that it is working with its engineering staff there at the Fayetteville facility to try to see if there are ways they can reduce or eliminate the discharge of the chemical to the river," he said. "We are going to be strongly encouraging that and pushing that issue with the company as time goes on."

DEQ staff are working with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to further investigate GenX. Each day, state health officials are holding conference calls with county-level officials in the lower Cape Fear region to update them on the situation.

Mandy Cohen, the DHHS secretary, said in the release, "The department has a history of close collaboration with DEQ to protect the health of North Carolinians. We are working closely with DEQ to understand more about GenX and we will keep people informed as we get more information."

In a memo sent to counties late Monday, DHHS cited a two-year toxicology study that indicated the 631 parts per trillion level of GenX found at CFPUA's intake during 2013-14 testing "is expected to pose a low risk to human health." To pose a hazard to human health, the report said, the levels would need to reach 70,909 parts per trillion. That finding was immediately highlighted in releseases from Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties.

But Jamie DeWitt, an East Carolina University toxicologist who earlier this year published a study on how GenX affects mice, was quick to hazard against reading too much into any single study, especially because the chemical has not been extensively researched.

'I need to have answers'

Officials from Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties and the City of Wilmington are preparing for Thursday morning's meeting, which is closed to the public. The StarNews will represent local media in the meeting.

Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said he expects to ask questions of both Chemours and regulators, focusing on GenX's impacts to public health.

"When you slice and dice all the science and you get down to the core of this thing, can we drink the water or not?" the mayor said. "That's all we want to know."

Frank Williams, the chairman of the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners, said Wednesday that he -- like many of the people who will be attending Thursday's meeting -- had never heard of GenX before the StarNews started reporting on the chemical last week. Ideally, Williams said, Chemours would be able to answer some of officials' lingering questions.

"You can't prepare from something you don't know about," Williams said, "so at this point we're in the phase of gathering as much information as we possibly can."

One utility that will not be at the table despite asking for a seat is H2GO, which services water customers in northern Brunswick County. Bob Walker, the agency's executive director, said he received a phone call from one customer and was unable to tell her whether it is safe to drink water that may include GenX.

"I need to have answers for our customers," Walker said, "and it's very frustrating not to be able to give them answers one way or the other."

H2GO, Walker said, has reached out to a Port City environmental lab to determine if the facility can test for GenX in the utility's water. It is unclear, though, what that will cost or even if the lab will be able to perform the test because standard protocols have not been crafted.

Wednesday, CFPUA voted to increase its rate by an average of 2.05 percent -- a decision that would raise customers' bills by an extra $15.48 annually. Patricia Kusek, a New Hanover County commissioner who sits on the board, voted against the increase -- largely because of the GenX revelations.

"We have a community that's concerned right now about the issue," she said, "and the question of not knowing whether their drinking water is safe. I just didn't feel like it was appropriate to pass this budget at this moment in time that would pass a rate increase, no matter how small, and it was small. It was an issue for me with all the angst and the concern."

Reporter Adam Wagner can be reached at 910-343-2389 or Adam.Wagner@GateHouseMedia.com

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